On Friday night, a man who bears a passing resemblance to Johnny Depp created a buzz at Emquartier, a luxury shopping mall in Bangkok, as Thai people lined up for his autograph and to get a glimpse of Captain Sparrow.
This mysterious Johnny Depp look-alike was spotted at the mall at around 6:30pm on Friday. Since he was reportedly surrounded by mall security, netizens excitedly posted photos of the fake Hollywood star online.
A Thai fan club for the real Depp shared the details of the Johnny Depp stunt submitted by people who were at Emquartier.
“About the fake Johnny Depp, I thought it was funny at first, but when I read details from the people who met him, it wasn’t funny at all — it was as if he tried to deceive us,” the admin of Facebook page “Johnny Depp Thailand” wrote.
“People who were there said that the mall’s security guards confirmed he was really Johnny Depp on a private visit. There was also a woman assisting him as people lined up for a photo.”
The admin, who declined to be named, told Coconuts that the man is not even an impersonator, but just a look-alike who has been living in Thailand for a long time.
“He’s just a photographer, from what I heard,” she said.
She commented on the stunt, “I don’t know why the mall did this. Emquartier’s security guards said they received a call there was a superstar at the mall and they had to protect him. So the guards assumed it was this man.”
On the fan page, the admin also wrote that the expat was frequently spotted at Emquartier but no one had paid attention to him. This time, however, the buzz and misunderstanding were probably driven by a public concert at the mall.
Duangjai Tangsayan, another fan who was at Emquartier at the time, said that this Johnny Depp “was made in China.”
“I really thought it was him at first. But after observing for a while, something was off. The made-in-China Johnny Depp wouldn’t just walk into the restaurant, he was standing outside, as if he was trying to show himself off.”
She also noted that a Thai woman who was with him tried to get people’s attention, “The woman said, ‘This is Johnny Depp! Captain Sparrow! Don’t you know him?’ just to make the crowd excited.”
The fan page also made comparisons of the fake and real Johnny Depp, noting their hand and arm tattoos, their noses, and autographs are completely different.
https://www.facebook.com/johnnydeppthailand/posts/1723878684345175
Is this a viral marketing clip? A reaction-type video planned out by a YouTuber? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.
As far as we we know, fake Johnny Depp was then spotted at Nunglen, an Ekkamai bar popular among young Thais, known for playing live Thai music.
We can’t imagine why any foreigner would go to Nunglen unless they’ve been dragged there by their Thai girlfriend.
Khun says
I guess for Thai people, all us Farangs look the same. 555